This is a zine dedicated to black metal written by a follower of the left hand path, This zine has been around in a different format for a while and I have decided to make an edition for www.blogger.com, for more information email occultblackmetalzine@yahoo.com, new albums as well as classic albums will be reviewed on here as long as their good quality black metal,

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Violent Hammer is primitive death metal from Northern Finland. We were active 05-08, split-up and re-formed the band in '11 with a new vocalist. The original drummer left the band pretty soon after the re-formation and we had another guy filling in for a year or two before we kicked him out. We tried bunch of other guys and it didn't work out so K.S. switched from bass to drums. Pretty soon after that we found a new bass player and a lead guitarist and things have been running smoothly after that. Violent Hammer is Janne guitar / Joonas vomits / Kalle drums / Lasse guitar / Late bass.

2.Recently you have released a new demo, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
The new stuff is more primitive. The older stuff wasn't that technical or anything but we have stripped down all the unnecessary influences and overall regressed in every aspect. We recorded the demo ourselves and having more experience on that departmant has really paid off.

3.This is the first demo to be released in 7 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?
We split up after the 2nd demo. We had plans about full-lenght and ep etc but those plans never realized. With the original lineup we didn't do any gigs or anything.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with
the newer music?
The lyrics mainly deal with topics such as war, death and agony. We play death metal and lyrics are very death metal.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Violent Hammer'?
Violent Hammer is a musical entity that will violently hammer your face in.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Thus far we've only played 3 gigs (1st with another drummer). The ones we've played with the current lineup have been slightly chaotic on the alcohol department. There's no stage performance per se; only screams, hate, pounding and blood.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
None at the moment.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and death metal?
The feedback has been positive. We sold out the 1st pressing of the demo in a month or so and most of the pressing was sold outside Finland. Haven't seen any reviews yet but judging by the amount on people begging for free stuff we're at least somewhat known, ha!

9.Are any of the band members involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?
Kalle plays drums in Ydintuho (raw punk deathstrike from the trenches, ep coming soon), Lasse, Janne & Late have a swe-death metal project, demo coming sooner or later and Joonas "sings" in noise/grind band.

10.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
The slower parts are slower and fast parts are faster than on the demo so there's a bit of variation of some kind. No drastic style changes or anything, still primitive death metal hammering. We still have to write at least 3-4 tracks before we start recording. After that it's up to Shadow Kingdom.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Literature, computer games, satanic power lifting and alcohol.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or
thoughts?
At the moment we're working on tracks for the upcoming 1st full length on Shadow Kingdom Records and that's about it. Thanks for your interest.

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Beautality is my vision, my goal, my modus operandi and magnum opus realised. Everything I've wanted to create with music. Free from boundaries. An emotionally visceral, powerful tour de force to take the listener, and myself through a myriad of experiences and become lost within the music.

2.You have a new album coming out in March, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Einfallen: A Tale Ov Torment & Triumph is the most advanced, dynamic, complete set of soundscapes I've ever created. Everything is more extreme, moving in different directions yet maintaining complete coherence and precise fluidity. Much of my growls are more more classicly black metal, whilst my clean vocals are far more daring with more frequent use of harmonies and vocal techniques. Many of which were stylistically improvised during recording.

This is the first album to truly capture the real sound of Beautality. Whilst Providence had quite a meaty sound to it it lacked some of the vital rawness one would hear from experiencing Beautality live. Previously my guitar was too processed and augmented, played through a modulator. This time round what you hear is exactly how I play and how Beautality sounds. I couldn't be more happy with the collective marriage of rawness and cohesion. I give Tom Dring (mixer/masterer) much kudos in capturing the essence of Beautality so wonderfully in Einfallen.

Einfallen does have quite a cinematic feel to it. Every song is a vast, complete journey through blistering highs and crushing lows and much in between. More Black Metal, More Doom, more Post Metal, More Rock, More Experimental/Avant Garde. Yet more Beautality. Oh and catchy- very CATCHY.

3.On your facebok page you refer to the band as 'extreme euphoric metal', can you tell us a little bit more about the tag?

I music I create in Beautality is so vast and varied it's incredibly difficult to pigeon hole for many, myself included. the popular consensus at least seems to be 'Atmospheric Post-Black Metal'. But in reality Beautality really don't sound like many other bands at all, given the wealth of influences inside. i chose Extreme Euphoric Metal because I believe it describes the sounds Beautality generates rather well. the underlying feeling of Euphoria is a prevalent one I feel be it in the rehearsal studio, recording or at home listening back. A deeply metaphysical, astral experience that takes the collective essences of my own and collaborators somewhere not quite of this plane.

I also didn't want to be any part of the now age old issue of what is 'trve'. I make music for myself. Music I wish to hear, music I NEED to hear. To maintain my own sanity. Not to appeal to any side of an argument. Whilst I love and listen to much of that (my favourite genre of music is unsurprisngly Black Metal, specifically the '90's sound') i like too many different things to just play one style of music. I certainly didn't create ambitious experimental 20 minute epics to impress anyone and I don't expect much in the way of chart success!
That said, knowing people 'get', like and love Beautality is a wonderful feeling to behold and never fails to make me smile, or nod with with silent approval.

Beautality are most likely Black Metal at the core but there are strong progressive and ever present rockin' elements that make me feel a different tag/s is warranted.
In essence; I make music that i want to listen to.

4.The lyrics on the new album have a concept to them, can you tell us a little bit more about them?

The concept/lyrics to Einfallen tell the story of how potent and poisonous love can become. When one feels so deeply that obsession and darkness rear their ugly heads into eventual insanity. And ones eventual realisation of the descent into a vile, rotten path and the need for redemption. These are themes that many, if not all of us can relate to at some point in our lives- or more than once.

The tale of descending into darkness/evil and the need of redemption is a similar archetype throughout mankind as well in both history and popular fiction. One of the most prevalent cases that comes to mind it is the tale of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. I've no doubt been influenced by many of these tropes throughout my life and have collectively told a story based on collective influence, experience, imagination and some kind of cosmic force i'm only partically aware of.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Beautality'?

Beautality is the very essence of the band. It's what I/we do. Beautiful, brutal, light, dark, heavy, soft, rightoeus, insideous, fast, slow. I wanted to have a name that instantly tells someone what to expect. I'm also a huge fan of portmanteau (the almalgamation of two words to create a new one).
The marriage of opposites working in glorious unison to create a vast, expansive jouney. Life isn't simply one way. We have ups, downs and much in between. Beautality is that experience in musical form.

6.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you planning on expanding the line up in the future, or do you chose to remain a duo?

Since the recording of Einfallen I had to part ways with the now former drummer Duke. He has a different path now. Ideally Beautality live would be 2 guitars, keyboards/3rd guitar, bass, drums, backing clean and growled vocals with me on vocals. At present that is somewhat of a pipe dream. The band initially performed as a classic 3 piece (me on guitar/vocals, a bassist and a drummer) but the music is simply to immense to be perfmormed by anything less than a 4 piece (second guitar). I'm content playing guitar live, whilst I'd rather not given the choice and focus on performing.

Quite simply it's been incredibly difficult to find musicians of the high standard Beautality requires. Be it ability, vision or professionalism. Creatively speaking I can do everything myself. I'm proficient at all of the instruments. though I do prefer to have additional help so people and bring something to the Beautality fold, be it more intricate drums or guitar solo's. I consider myself gifted enough to play the music I want to hear. Something very similar to one of my favourite composers Aran of the now sadly defunct Lunar Aurora once said.

Some people have been purturbed by how bare bones Beautality can be in when just jamming. I'm completely self taught so I'm very comfortable with a great degree of improvisation and meticulously structuring/composing the songs afterwards.
I'm the visionary of Beautality. This is my band. I welcome people to come and share the vision collectively with me. This is my 11th band and my most successful one becuase I am in complete control. I bleieve the best bands work because everyone collectively knows the place and strength within the unit. I also believe a good leader knows when to listen. If someone has a good suggestion and it works- we'll use it. If it doesn't we won't- very simple. Whatever makes the song all it can be. no matter ow simple or intricate it may be. A great deal of my favourite bands seem to operate in very similar ways so it's certainly a successful ethos.

But the final say will always be mine- I will always listen to my instincts and follow my vision.

Ultimately I do desire some other musicians if for no other reason than to play live. I live for music and perfomance is deep within my blood. So I'm on the hunt to find new people. Beautality must be experienced live. There is much atmosphere and a certain feeling that cannot quite be conveyed other than in the flesh so to speak.We'll see.

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?

It's all been pretty positive I'm happy to say. I've had many say it's not Black Metal. It's all a matter of opinion. All I find relevant is if people like it. I'm my own biggest critic and always will be so negative comments are are of absolutely no use to me. Like I said before it's awesome to discover people like and love what i do because Beautality is deeply personal to me. it's my lifes work. other things that interest me to an extent are what influences/other bands people can hear. I've heard many from people. It just adds to how difficult we are to pigenhole. That and I also like to know how the music affects people emotionally. That fascinates me. how it makes them feel and what visual images their minds may conhure up to the music I create.

8.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

That's a good question. I don't fully know. Beautality, after all represents the deep dualism within myself. We have over 250 songs already. I could honestly not write another song and have enough material to comfortably make another 10+ albums at the very least. But that's nto how my mind works. I'm as random and off the cuff as I am deeply meticiulous. After all, Einfallen wasn't even supposed to be the next record. It was supposed to be 'Solitude'. Einfallen was initially just an intro song to come on stage to and my mind creatively ran with things for it to be the longest, most ambitious album I've ever created by far.

I do have a loose plan/concept for upcoming albums. But as I always like to say- these are subject to change. Instinct, planning, vision and perfomance lie at the core of Beautality. All I know is it will sound great and be at the creative vanguard of metal. Watch this space. For now Dr Ravengarde advises a lethal dosage of Einfallen.

9.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Wow- it's a classic question I always enjoy answering. The first band that truly inspired me were The Shadows from the 60's and 70's. Absolutely incredible guitar sound that you can still hear in what I do. Rolling Stones, Arthur Brown and much 60's-70's pop/rock i can't put a name to thanks to listening to lots of vintage radio as a young child.
Nirvana hugely inspired me. that rawness, catchyness and apparent simplicity with wonderful hidden subtleties. Alice In Chains, Radiohead- namely OK Computer, which really opened my mind to ambitious structures, NIN with their electronic elements, Slipknot, Metallica and vitally Celtic Frost. When I first heard 'The Heart Beneath' playing over the incredibly iconic Manga Entertainment trailer as a child I was changed forever.

Things changed for me again when I discovered Opeth In November 2002 with Deliverance and my mind was once again opened to the incredible world of intense extremities mixed with such magnificent beauty. Cult of Luna have a large impact wherespoce is involved Dark Funeral, Emperor, Enslaved and Dimmu Borgir collectively assured my love of Black Metal as my favourite musical genre of choice. Never before had I experienced such poweful, sonic, atmospheric soundscapes that would resonate so deeply within my core and enhance my emotional state and also give me a vital part to my creative playing core.

In my teens I wanted to make grunge, in my late teens I wanted to make post metal with grunge elements. In my early 20's I wanted to combine Black Metal and Grunge. In my mid to late 20's I created Beautality and so much more elements entered the fold. Now at 31 I've honed my craft and consider to see where it goes. What a long winded answer.

What am I listening to now? Well Einfallen for a start, the new Nightbringer album, Lunar Aurora, Krieg, Midnight Odyssey and some other stuff including work form the composer Nobuo Uematsu. I will literally listen to end enjoy (Almost) anything as long as it sounds good. It just so happens that my playlist is usually 90% Black Metal. I'm always on the hunt for something new and obscure to change my life and new outings for bands I already love. Discovering amazing new bands has and will always be one of my greatest passions and my wallets nemesis.

10.Does Occultism play any role in your music?

Yes it does.I was raised a strict Roman Catholic as a child, which almost guaranteed my leaving the faith once I reached maturity. I consider myself a spiritual atheist. I would like to say agnostic but I feel more evidence leaing towards there not being a God, so to speak. Then again I believe in the neutral power of the universe so perhaps I have a samblance of belief in a 'Godhead' if you will. I was raised to fear the devil and hell intensely. Something I'm somewhat the opposite stance with now. the song 'Mourning Star' on Providence was about not fearing what Lucifer is and being ones own God.

Frankly I deride power from darkness. It soothes me. We've always had a connection so to speak. Conicdentally I'm routinely told I have naturally very devillish features. I agree with this. Just a coincidence of course. Or is it?
I digress. It's safe to say I'm handsome.

The occult both stimulates and fascinates me. I study and read up on demons/occult practises for fun and to learn.
I have strong belief in psychic energy and once had a demon visit me in a vision. It was a spell binding moment and inspired some lyrics in 'Messias'. to say i haven;t ventured out to discover the demon who spoke to me through deep research and meditation would be a lie. Socrates had a Daimon in his life and i doubt I'm crazy. Somewhere inbetween. I refuse to live within the belief system of others. Through light and dark my mind is my own. I could honestly talk on the subject of occultism for a great deal of time

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

I'm a retired super model. That is a lie. I'm not retired.

Well I like to create art. Draw, sketch write and perform comedy for the stage and online/one day television perhaps. Good television, film, animation comic books and wrestling all appeal to me. Larry David, Bryan Cranston and Stone Cold Steve Austin are all heroes of mine.

Psychology fascinates me and I have a rather good knack for understanding many facets of it. A dash of philosophy is always welcome throughout the day. Unsurprisingly researching arcane symbols is also favoured along side spiritual matters and a little astrology.

I think I should be cast as a supervillian in a movie. Seriously. The way I look and sound. It's money on the table.I also like videogames, and talking to myself.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Feral are a 1 man band from Tabusintac, New Brunswick, Canada that plays a very raw form of black metal and this is a review of their self released 2014 album "For Those Who Live In Darkness".

A very dark and atmospheric sounding synth starts off the album and after a couple of minutes the music starts going into more of a heavier direction along with a decent amount of melody and after awhile high pitched black metal screams are added into the music and they also have a depressive tone to them at times.

A good portion of the tracks are very long and epic in length and there are also times when deep death metal growls are added into certain sections of the recording and on the later tracks there is a good mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts along with a very raw black metal sound that is very heavily rooted in the 90's tradition.

The faster sections of the songs bring in a great amount of blast beats and as the album progresses the music brings in a brief use of clean playing which also makes its return on later tracks aw well along with a small amount of acoustic guitars, nature sounds and whispers onto one of the tracks before making a return to more of an aggressive and raw black metal sound while the songs also start adding in guitar solos and leads into some of the tracks while one of the later songs also bring in more of a powerful sounding bass guitar while the last track also adds in a small amount of spoken word parts.

Feral creates a style of black metal that is very dark, raw and diverse while also having a depressive feeling st times and a dent amount of melodies, the production sounds very dark and raw while the lyrics cover dark and blasphemous themes.

In my opinion Feral are a very great sounding raw black metal project and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Nocturnal Queen" "The Curse" and "Dethroning Your King". 8 out of 10.

Sunday, December 28, 2014

For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Torture Chamber is a black metal band from the Bay Area, California. It was at one point a solo project of mine, and it became a full band about a year and a half ago. I play guitar and do vocals, Voldr is the other guitarist, Zack is on bass, and Gabriel is our drummer.

2. So far you have released 2 EP's, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings and also how do they differ from each other?

The first demo (EP, demo, whatever) is called “Into the Void.”. The sound on it is extremely lo-fi and a lot more melodic than our sound nowadays. The new EP, “Qayin,” was recorded at a studio in Oakland, California called The Secret Bathroom with the lineup we have now. While still having a raw production, the recording is much more clear and reflective of how the band sounds nowadays. With that said, Torture Chamber is a perpetually evolving entity. No release from us will ever sound identical to the previous. To follow this trend (which is unfortunately growing in popularity) is self-imposed stagnation.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

Lyrical content is very personal to me. It almost exclusively includes topics regarding Gnostic Satanism and nihilism. Humanity is microscopic, acting only as a figurative (and possibly literal) tumor upon the Earth. The metaphorical and metaphysical aspects of Qliphoth and the Tree of Knowledge are discussed.

4.The name of the new EP is "Qayin" and on the FB page you had Goetic Magick listed as on your interests, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in the Occult?

In short, I believe that enlightenment can be obtained by pursuing the destructive force that lies dormant in all of us, and using it constructively. Illumination comes not from creating light within darkness, but from making the darkness your light, so to speak.

5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Torture Chamber'?

The name Torture Chamber, while not pertaining to the band’s lyrical content, stems from my interest in the history of the Spanish Inquisition and Crusades of the 11th and 12th centuries. Our music itself matches the harsh and desolate imagery of this time period.

6. Originally the band started out as a solo project, what was the decision behind forming a full line up?

I felt that more could be achieved musically with the contributions and input of full-time members.

7. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

My favorite show was the one we played in San Luis Obispo a couple months ago. The people there are very passionate about this music and we were well-received. Our stage show has been described as violent and chaotic, with blood and carrion covering us and the stage.

8. Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

We plan to play farther away from Northern California in this coming year. It is likely that we’ll do a tour of the Western half of the U.S. this summer with a well-known band from the Pacific Northwest, who will be unnamed for now.

9. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?

The feedback has been generally positive for Torture Chamber’s music. We’ve had complaints from certain venues regarding our live aesthetic, but that’s to be expected.

10. When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

A full length can be expected in mid/late 2015. The sound will only become more chaotic.

11. What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I’m influenced by many musical genres, everything from black metal to classic rock to trance. As a band, we share common influences such as Craft, 1349, Bathory, and Deathspell Omega. Lately, I’ve been listening to Earthless, which is instrumental psychedelic music, and a lot of black/death like Archgoat, Proclamation, and Demoncy.

12. What are some of your non musical interests?

Our non-musical interests are irrelevant.

13. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thank you very much for the interview. Expect new music from Torture Chamber very soon.

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Human Bodies are a band from Massachusetts that plays a raw mixture of black metal and punk and this is a review of their 2014 cassette which was released by Caligari Records.

Noisy reverb starts off the cassette before going into a very fast and raw black metal sound that also brings in a great amount of blast beats and high pitched screams and you can hear a heavy punk influence in the bands musical style and at time s you can hear some melody being added into certain sections of the recording.

You can hear a heavy influence from the more punk side of the Norwegian black metal scene in the bands musical sound and the songs at times also bring in a good mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts and the bass guitar also brings in a very powerful sounding presence on some of the tracks while a couple of the songs also bring in a few seconds of guitar leads.

Human Bodies plays a style of black metal that is very raw and heavily rooted in the 90's sound and also mix it in with the energy of punk to create a sound of their own, the production sound s very raw and old school while the lyrics cover dark, violent and hateful themes.

In my opinion Human Bodies are a very great sounding raw mixture of black metal and punk and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Scapegoat" and "Bellicose Throngs". 8 out of 10.

Beautality are a duo from the United Kingdom that plays an atmospheric form of post black metal and this is a review of their album "Einfallen: A Tale ov Torment & Triumph" which will be released by Nordavind Records in 2015.

Acoustic guitar playing starts off the album and they bring in a good mixture of full chords and open note finger picking and a few second s later clean singing vocals, drums and melodic guitar leads start becoming a huge part of the music before adding in grim black metal screams and you can hear a good amount of post rock elements throughout the tracks.

Most of the songs are very long and epic in length and all of the musical instruments have a very powerful sound to them and at times spoken word parts can be heard in certain sections of the recording and all of the musical instruments have a very powerful sound to them and after awhile the guitars start bringing in a more heavy and atmospheric black metal sound to the recording.

At time s the music does go into more of a fast and raw black metal direction along with a decent amount of blast beats while the main focus remains more on a melodic and atmospheric post metal sound which also brings in elements of darkwave and dream pop at times and the songs also bring in a good mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts and one of the tracks also brings in a small amount of melodic chants that also gives the music a pagan metal feeling while some of the screams bring in some traces of depressive black metal on one of the later songs and on the last track you can also hear some elements of doom metal in the slower sections.

Beautality plays a style of post black metal that is very melodic and atmospheric sounding while also adding in a good amount of progressive elements and influences from a variety of many different genres and most of the tracks are very close to 20 minutes in length, the production sounds very powerful and heavy sounding while the lyrics are a concept album that deals with both the mental and astral planes.

In my opinion Beautality are a very great sounding atmospheric post black metal band and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "The Devil's Elixir" and "Messias". 8 out of 10.

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band these days?

- We have finalised the release of Pain & Pleasure with Inverse, after going through lenghty negotiation rounds with lots of labels. Our priority was to keep the copyright of the work to ourselves, which in today's music industry climate requires bands themselves to take the financial risk of release. We were also busy creating the cover artwork, which the drummer Ville ended up doing three versions of, although even the first version looked good to me.

And there's all these other bands we are involved in, such as 0xist and Sata Kaskelottia. Both of which have been doing number of live shows, and are preparing releases for new albums.

2.So far you have released a demo and 2 full length's, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?

- All releases have a different personality from one another. At least, that's our intention. When an album during its writing process reveals its direction it wants to head to, we explore that direction as far as we can. Of course, there will be unavoidable similarities between them. For example, in type of song structures, chords, and playing feel. But we have never chosen any particular "band concept" and stuck to it, perhaps a little to our detriment. Making music just for the sake of making music has never appealed to me.

Our first work, the demo/MiniCD The Sickening was all about unleashing all the musical weirdness I was getting into that time. The result is jagged uncomfortable oddball of an EP. The sound production, although done in a proper studio, ended up sounding very sterile digital and harsh, partly to my own blame. I nowadays get uncomfortable when anyone compliments the sound production on that release.

The full-lenght Stilltrapped is a bit easier on the ear on surface, but musically it's one of the most depressive albums ever made. That sounds like a big statement, but sitting through it really sucks the life force out of you. However, that was never the intention unto itself, but rather reflects the slow downward spiral I was personally trapped in. The sound production on it is somewhat interesting. We still didn't quite know what we were doing, but the sound ended up having this snow-storm-sweeping-over-desolate-field type of feel to it, which I have rarely heard in a non-black metal release.

Compared to Stilltrapped, this latest one, Pain & Pleasure, has a lot more energy and warmth to it. Both musically and sonically. There's some death metal influences which we previously didn't have, and all in all there's just more riffs going on. Sound is sought out to be earthy and muscular, although keeping the guitars tuned in standard E, as they were before. Still, the production sounds nicely different from the majority of modern metal production. Not so super clean and in-your-face, but more subtle and luring, letting the music do the talking.

3.The band has been around since 1999 but so far only has a demo and 2 album's, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap between releases?

- Like I said, I have never sought out activity just for the sake of activity, like so many other bands do. I want the musical ideas to be strong and timeless. For that, I have to allow them time, I cannot force them out.

Also we have full-time jobs in order to survive. And as there's only 2 members in the band, there's a lot of aspects of band activity to be learned and maintained just for the two of us. And every now and then life throws a curveball that forces the band on a short hiatus. The list goes on. Someone might view these as excuses, but in this world of metal where there's clearly an overabundance of just-another-releases, I want every Apocryphal Voice release to something special and substantial. So I feel no guilt over our apparent slowness, even though it might make us get lost in the noise.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

- They can be anything that speaks to me. Venting inner daemons to achieve catharsis and to get some weight off my shoulders, texts open and fertile to different interpretations whether it originally meant something to me and I then hid the original meaning or or just being stream of thoughts, symbolic, even fictional stories... et cetera.

It's really easier to answer which kind of lyrics I'm not interested in writing. Those include anything mundane everyday life stuff, gore just for the sake of gore, anything overtly political or current day topical, urban topics, partying, chest puffing, anything materialistic, and so on.

5.On your last album you had a song about Kali, are the band members interested in Occultism or Eastern Mysticism?

- We have always been interested in anything underneath the surface, more than meets the eye. Though I try to keep a critical approach and not swallow anything unchewed. A lot of esotericism is highly symbolic anyway, and once you study a bit of everything from all over the world you start recognising underlying common truths and archetypes that reoccurr in different sources.

Kali also can, and should, be taken symbolically as a force of perpetual flux of change and renewal. She is the goddess of chaos after all, and you can't have creation without chaos, without dying of all things stagnated thus giving room for something new and progression.

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Apocryphal Voice'?

- A voice that isn't recognised as a part of canonical mainstream "truth" by the established powers that be. A voice of dissent. The name can apply to pretty much any musical direction we might take, although it has proven not to roll off your tongue very nicely, unfortunately.

7.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you planning on expanding the line up in the future, or do you chose to remain a duo?

- We are planning to add a third member for possible live shows. Most likely a bassist, since I have developed very unique style of guitar playing. The bass has always been an important instrument in our music, very melodic and thus should be fun to play. The main core of the band as far as the delicate process of creating and recording new music will still be us two.

8.Recently Inverse Records, re-issued your 2013 album, what are your thoughts on the final product?

- It always was the intention to have a physical release, not just a Bandcamp release. We view that the streamable release was just a showcase for the proper album.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of avant garde and black metal?

- From the day one it's always been love-it-or-hate-it by those who have encountered our music. The exposure itself has been quite limited. It's very difficult get a word out there unless your band has a marketable "story", or rather an extramusical gimmick. We on the other hand, are just interested in exploring fresh angles to metal music itself.

10.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

- I play second guitar in 0xist (a.k.a. Zero Exist). It's very much a vehicle of Jani Koskela, formerly from Let Me Dream, and plays a bit in the vein of Triptykon

http://www.zeroexist.net/

Ville has been involved in number of bands, most famously Black Crucifixion, but nowadays plays drums in Sata Kaskelottia, metal/rock a bit in the vein of Mastodon in finnish language. I helped the guys record their upcoming album with the same equipment as with Apocryphal Voice's Pain & Pleasure. The equipment itself is nothing fancy, but I'm pleased with the result which proves that if you're unafraid of the learning curve you can these days have a nice enough production without renting time from a big studio.

http://satakaskelottia.fi/?page_id=49

Also throughout all these years I have had a number of personal side projects recorded in demo quality just for the fun of it. I don't know yet if I'm going to release any of it. But if I do, they will be free downloads.

11.When can we expect new music and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

- Let's let the dust from the release of Pain & Pleasure settle down first. I'm entertaining the ideas of someday making a not so extreme album with a deep in the pine forest feel to it, and a more prog death metal album with an interstellar space feel to it, but I can't tell which will be made sooner. All in all, I always have very large recorded riff library as pool to draw ideas for further development from. Right now I think it contains literally hundreds of riffs in varying styles, and simply going through them will be a lot of work unto itself.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

- It's difficult to self-analyse, which bands have been how much influence. I have always listened to widely varying styles of artists. But there are a couple of important musical revelations that have blown my mind and charged me with "I've got to something like that too!" -feeling. Emperor when I was about 16, Ved Buens Ende when I was about 20, and Gorguts around the age of 28-30.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

- I'm very much into latest scientific discoveries in cosmology, particle physics, biology... The more mind-boggling, the better! I also enjoy nature documentaries, especially on big cats such as tigers and leopards, etc.

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

- Not really. I hope everyone reading this had a nice Yule (I'm finishing this interview on the Christmas Day).

Torture Chamber are a band from California that plays a very raw and misanthropic form of black metal and this is a review of their 2014 ep "Qayin" which was released by Black Lion Productions.

A very raw and old school black metal sound starts off the ep along with some high pitched screams and brutal blast beats and all of the musical instruments have a very powerful sound to them along with some open note riffs that bring in more of a dark atmosphere to the songs and the band also brings in a good mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts.

At times deep death metal growls can be heard in certain sections of the recording and some of the songs also bring in a decent amount of melody as well as adding in an influence of thrash at times along with most of the tracks being very long and epic in length and a couple of the songs also bring in a brief use of clean playing before making a return back to more of a raw and chaotic black metal direction.

Torture Chamber plays a style of black metal that is very raw and misanthropic with some war metal elements while also having a good sense of melody at times, the production sound s very dark and raw while the lyrics cover Luciferian, Occultism, Blasphemous, and Misanthropic themes.

In my opinion Torture Chamber are a very great sounding raw and misanthropic black metal band and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this ep. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Defiling The Throne" and "Drowning In the Blood Of vermin". 8/5 out of 10.

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
H.P.: In the mean time, the pack changed some members and this was the main cause, why it took us so long to release the „Anti-Human Nekro Kvlt“.

2.In October you had released your first album, how would you describe the musicla sound that is presented on the recording?
H.P.: Through out the Album, the sound represent the way we wanted to express our music. Raw rhythm section with nervous guitars and agressive/psychotic vocals. We are very satisfied with the production by S.S. from Quercus Park Studios.

3.The band has been around since 2009 but so far this is the first album, can you tell us a little bit more about the first 5 years?
H.P.: Mostly we had problems with the line up, which took a lot of time, but in the meantime the core of the band was making new material (... a lot of alcohol was wasted).

4.Your lyrics cover some satanic and anti christian topics, how would you describe your views on Satanism?
H.P.: As a unity, we had agreed on a consensus, what Human Putrefaction stands for, but every member has his own view on this subject. As long as we have common goals, the Anti-Human Nekro Kvlt will be alive.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
H.P.: Every performance gave us it's own feelings, but so far, one of the most remarkable for us was the show at Trainstation squat in Kranj on April 2013, where J.D. From Somrak, who also recorded the back vocals and vocals for sixth track on the album, again joined us on the stage.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
H.P.: Till now we only had the release ritual, but we have plans for more gigs in future. Regarding touring things are still in mist.

7.The new album was released on Mater Tenebrarum Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
H.P.: The guys from the Slovenian underground label MTR are very dedicated individuals whith a great feel for music and scene and we hope that we started a hellish relationship with them.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?
H.P.: Till now we did not get many feedback, also because we dont have the intention to force our music, not that we would not appreciate fans or critics from the globe. But till now the reviews of the album from some web-zines are promising.

9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part off?
H.P.: Nothing special which would change the path of Human Putrefaction and its intentions, although some of us have other projects.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
H.P.: Our vision grows, but future is still posessed by misantrophy.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
H.P.: We follow our own principles and feelings, with no special influence from the artists we appreciate.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
H.P.: Too much questions, Whiskey bottle is dry so we better fuckin' shut up!
A.M.S.G.

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
1. Chaoscraft started as a solo project by me, Isolator on 2013, with the purpose to play Black Metal, mainly influenced by old Scandinavian Black Metal bands like Emperor, Dissection, Dark Funeral and many more.

2.A year back you had released your first album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
2. Well, first of all the production of the album is not like the typical Black Metal production. It is more clean, but without being overproduced. The music I write contains fast guitar riffs, screaming mid-pitched vocals and blastbeats. It is recommended for fans of fast Black Metal.

3.Your lyrics cover some Anti Christian topics, can you tell us a little bit more about your hatred for Christianity and also do you have any interest in Satanism or Occultism?
3. I wouldn't say that my lyrics are only about anti christianity, but against all kinds of organized religion which want humans to be slaves. I hate religious people, especially when they pray to their fucking god asking for mercy because they did bad things in their life. All these cunts, are pretending to be good and innocent, but inside they are the worst people alive. I am not interested in satanism or occultism, I am here because of music.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Chaoscraft'?
4. The name Chaoscraft actually describes the whole vibe of my lyrics, which mostly have no order, no cohesion and they hide subliminal messages.

5.On the album you recorded all of the musical instruments and vocals by yourself, do you feel you get your point across a lot better by working solo than with a band?
5. I recorded all the vocals, all the guitars and the bass, but I used a drum machine. I think working by myself is better for me, because I can do whatever I want, I can record everything that I want, I can do the production that I like, so the final product will be like the way I wanted to be from the first time.

6.The album was released on War Against yourself Records, are you happy with the support that they have given you so far?
6. Yes, W.A.Y is a great label, with very good promotion. The album was released in the most European countries, I don't know about the U.S yet.

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?
7. So far, so good.

8.You have a very interesting cover for the album, can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that was presented on the cover?
8. The cover shows a dead angel emerging from a graveyard. It symbolizes creation through destruction, procreation through disaster in general.

9.When can we expect new music and also where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?
9. Right now, I am trying to find some session members for some live shows, to promote the album as much as possible.
After that, I think I am gonna write material for the next album.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
10. Dissection, Mayhem, Emperor, Dark Funeral, Thorns are some of my biggest influences. Today I prefer to listen to the underground stuff, more than the crap that ''major'' metal labels ,like metal blade or nuclear blast, release.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
11. Sometimes I catch myself dawdling on the fucking internet for many hours. I like watching movies too.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
12. Thanks a lot for this interview, keep up the good work with your webzine.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Rotting Bulls a raw crusty black metal band from Newcastle Upon Tyne.

2.How would you describe your musical sound?

Raw Crusty Black Metal

3.The ep you recently released is a part of a trilogy, can you tell us a little bit more about it?

Well we wanted to release something on the first day of Winter, something in the middle of Winter and something else on the last day then retire the band until next Winter. It's not quite worked out that way though. Equipment broke and people fell ill. Seemed kind of pointless sticking to arbitrary calender dates though, the musics getting released whenever its done. Most of part two is recorded, just needs the finishing touches then it will be getting added to the Beyond Ragnarok album. Trying to keep it at three nine minute sections, each section representing another nine steps into Ragnarok. Then again, songs last as long as songs last. The next section is somewhere around the ten minute mark right now.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

Its pretty simple. Hatred and violence. Real earthly hatred. The real hatred that you feel day to day just paying attention to what's going on in the world. Watching the news and seeing drones blowing civilians to bits and seeing all the right wing cunts grow a larger hoard in the Uk. Makes me want to go out and brutally destroy every selfish thoughtless miserable cunt in my path. Well that's me, don't really know about the other guys. When we speak about it we agree that we wont be singing about forests and trolls and all that bollocks. Everyday hell, that's where its at with Rotting Bull.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Rotting Bull'?

I can't really remember. It probably came up when we were hammered. We originally had another name and a full live band line up with an ep written. I scrapped the songs for the ep, wrote Violent Death Hymns and renamed the band. Most of the band quit to concentrate on doing more drugs and other things. The singer and I finished off the demo and put it up online and we kept the name change. All Hail The Rotting Bull God! That had something to do with it. I dunno, beer. Beer had something to do with it.

6.has the band done any live shows or is this strictly a studio project?

Nah, we've been asked but there's so much freedom by never playing live. You can record songs and then forget how to play them... Maybe in the future.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

We're looking for a label to put out Beyond Ragnarok once it's completed. We have offers from a couple labels but we want to get the album complete first and then see if anyone offers us anything interesting. Maybe everyone will retract their offers when part two comes out haha.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?

Pretty cool. People get in touch from all the place which is great. My email address is goatsheadrecords@gmail.com . Anyones welcome to get in touch.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We're probably going to degenerate into utter filth. It will be glorious.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Oof, too much to mention. Ash Borer, I keep listening to the Ash Borer album these days.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Drinking. The band drinks a lot.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Disharmonic are a band from Italy that plays a very occult and ritualistic form of black/doom metal and this is a review of their 2014 ep "II Ritual Dei Non Mortis" which was released by Beyond Productions.

A very slow, dark and melodic sound starts off the album along with some grim vocals and screams as well as some solos and leads that also bring in a good amount of melody and once the riffs kick in the music goes for more of a black/doom metal sound which also brings in clean singing vocals and chant s at times that also gives the songs more of a ritualistic feeling.

At time s spoken word ritualistic parts can be heard in certain sections of the recording along with one of the tracks being long and epic in length and all of the songs stick to a very slow and ritualistic musical direction and at times they also add in some experimental and avant garde elements along with a small amount of synths and all of the musicla instruments have a very powerful sound to them.

Disharmonic creates a style of black/doom metal that is very grim, ritualistic and occult sounding as well as being very avant garde and experimental at time, the production sounds very dark while the lyrics cover Occultism, Witches, Evil, Spirits And Hell.

In my opinion Disharmonic are a very great sounding occult and ritualistic mixture of black and doom metal and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACK "Ritual Dei Non Morti I". 8 out of 10.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Viranesir are a duo from Turkey that plays a very politically incorrect form of experimental black metal and this is a review of their 2014 album "Raping Lesbians For Freedom" which was released by Merdumgiriz.

Distorted guitar noises and melodic chants start off the album along with some slow yet heavy riffing which also uses some melody at times and deep yet grim black metal screams which also have a depressive feeling at times start making their presence known on the recording which leads up to more fast parts being added into the music that also bring in the energy of punk.

The slower sections of the music have a doom metal feeling to them and some of the alter tracks also add clean playing into certain sections of the recording along with a good portion of the tracks being very long and epic in length and the music brings in a good mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts with the faster sections bringing a very raw black metal sound to the recording.

Throughout the album the melodic vocals mix in with the more extreme vocals which also gives the music more of an experimental and avant garde black metal feeling and the songs also bring in a good amount of blast beats at times and when solos and leads are finally added into the music they are in a few and melodic musical direction.

Viranesir plays a very experimental and avant garde form of music that also mixes in a great amount of raw and depressive black metal elements along with a touch of doom and punk to create a very original sounding recording, the production sounds very dark and raw while the lyrics cover the most disturbing, offensive and politically incorrect themes you can possibly think off but done in more of a humorous fashion.

In my opinion Viranesir are a very great sounding experimental black metal project and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Heil Hitler" "I Only Like Jews When They Kill Muslims" "Fuck Your Parents, Kill Them, Cook Them Up And Eat Them" and "Intoleran, National Imperialist, Racist Hate Metal Therapist, The Rapist". 8 out of 10.

Monday, December 22, 2014

Dawn Of A Dark Age are a duo from Italy that has been featured before in this zine and plays a raw, experimental and avant garde style of black metal and this is a review of their self released 2015 album "The Six Elements Vol. 2 Water".

Water and thunder sounds start off the album and a few seconds later synths and people noises are added onto the recording which also leads up to whispers and melodic vocals along with a small amount of violins and then heavy guitars start to make their presence known onto the recording along with some grim black metal screams and deep death metal growls.

Once the album gets past the intro the music gets more structured and starts to add in some melodic guitar solos while also going even more into a black metal direction as well as adding in more avant garde elements with both saxophones and violins and a few of the tracks are very long and epic in length.

All of the musical instruments on the recording have a very powerful sound to them and as the album progresses the music gets more fast in certain sections of the recording bringing in blast beats and more of a raw and old school black metal sound which they also mix in with the more experimental side of their musical style and on some of the tracks they bring in a good mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts and one of the songs also brings in a brief use of classical guitars and they close the album with an instrumental and outro.

Dawn Of A Dark Age creates some very original sounding music on this recording taking a raw style of black metal and mixing in elements of folk music, avant garde and experimental which results in songs that take the black metal genre into a different direction, the production sounds very dark and raw while the lyrics cover Natural World, Human Nature, Despair, Hatred and Seasons.

In my opinion this is another great sounding recording from Dawn of A Dark Age and if you are a fan of raw, experimental and avant garde black metal, you should check out this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Otzuni (The Black City In Apulia)" and "The Verrin's Source (On Mount Field)". 8 out of 10.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Caina are a band from the United Kingdom that plays post black metal with elements of punk, hardcore and d-beat and this is a review of t heir album "Setter Of Unseen Snares" which will be released in 2015 by Broken Limb Recordings.

Spoken word samples start off the album along with some atmospheric sounds in the background which leads up to a heavier guitar sound along with a few melodic chants which are also used again on one of the later tracks and after the intro the music goes for more of a raw post black metal sound along with some grim screams and you can hear a lot of d-beat structures and melody in the songs.

At times the music bring s in the energy of hardcore punk rock as well as adding clean playing into certain sections of the recording and all of the musical instruments have a very powerful sound to them and in some of the faster sections a decent amount of blast bears are brought in which also adds even more of a raw black metal sound to the bands musical style an d the last track is over 15 minutes in length and shows a more experimental side to the bands musical sound along with some elements of ambient being incorporated into the song along with a heavy doom metal influence and clean singing vocals.

As the album progresses the band starts bringing in a good mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts along with some distorted yet melodic guitar leads being utilized at times along with some of the 90's atmospheric black metal sound being added into the song structures which also makes the music sound more dark and grim.

Caina take s the raw, atmospheric and post black metal genres and adds in the energy of d-beat, hardcore and punk along with a great amount of melody to create a very aggressive and dark sounding recording, the production sound s very dark and raw while the lyrics cover Literary, Human Nature and Occultism themes.

In my opinion Caina are a very great sounding raw, atmospheric post black metal band with elements of hardcore, punk and d-beat and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "I Am The Flail Of The Lord" and "Applicant/Supplicant". 8 out of 10.

Friday, December 19, 2014

Cowards are a band from France that has been featured before in this zine and plays a mixture of black metal, sludge and hardcore and this is a review of their album "Rise To Infamy" which will be released in 2015 by Throatruiner.

A very heavy and distorted sound starts off the album along with some high pitched screams a few seconds later and the music also brings in a good mixture of post hardcore and sludge elements along with a decent amount of melody and the slower riffing also brings in a great amount of doom metal influences to the bands musical style.

All of the musical instruments on the recording have a very powerful sound to them and on some of the tracks the vocals bring in a heavy depressive black metal influence while the faster parts and blast beats when they are utilized also bring in the raw side of that same genre and as the album progresses the music starts bringing in a good mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts along with a small amount of spoken word samples being utilized in certain sections of the recording.

Cowards continue the sound they have established on previous recordings taking raw and depressive black metal and mixing it with sludge and post hardcore to create the sound that is presented on the recording, the production sounds very dark, raw and heavy while the lyrics cover anger, misanthropy and sarcasm themes.

In my opinion this is another great sounding recording from Cowards and if you are a fan of this band, you should enjoy this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Never To Shine"
"Birth Of The Sadistic Sun" "Anything But the High Road" and 'So Easy". 8 out of 10.

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the musical project since the recording and release of the ep?

Since the recording and release of Arias Exalted I have been taking some time to begin working on the lyrics for the new full length album. I have also begun recording some demo versions of the new songs while planning out the song structures. Right now I am focusing on getting shirts created, a second pressing of CDs printed, and numerous other things related to the release.

2.Recently you have released an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

I would describe it as a cold, powerful blast of music that serves as a standard of what to expect on the full length. While writing the lyrics I was inspired by my own personal beliefs as well as experiences. The music serves as a means to deliver the lyrics, but I wanted it to be memorable. I enjoy classical music and I think that’s one of the reasons why I always end up including melodies in every song.

3.I have seen the band refer to itself as 'transcendental black metal', can you tell us a little bit more about this tag?

Sure. Transcendental in this case would mean “that which goes beyond”. When I came up with the concept for the band, I knew that at the heart it should be a black metal band but I never wanted to limit the style based upon an idea of what constitutes black metal. So I suppose you could say that I am open to including many other musical styles such as death metal, doom, ambient, and so on. I’ve never liked the whole “purist” mentality so I think people may be surprised at some of the elements that will be included on the next album.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

Well for this album the lyrics were based on feelings of isolation and despair, as well as some focus on the Chaos God Pan. The book PANPARADOX by Vexior 218 was definitely a source of inspiration for the song “Through Immolation Sparked". Even the cover art for the album, created by Robert W. Cook, depicts Pan. He is a central theme to the overall concept of the EP. As for the rest of the album, the songs were partly inspired by nightmares and visions that I have experienced. The new lyrics I am writing are going in another direction and I can see them starting to take the form of an overarching concept.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Arthedain’?

Arthedain is a word that was created by J.R.R. Tolkien and describes one of the three realms of the Dunédain created from the dissolution of the Kingdom of Arnor. It’s residents were described as being fearless and victorious in battle. I thought that is something that applies to everyday life; each day is a battle against something if you’re working to make a change in the world.

6.The band members live in both Germany and United States, what kind of effect does the long distance play in your musical style?

Actually I am also living in Germany at the moment so it makes it a little bit easier. It is still a little difficult for Tobi and me to get together and rehearse though because he has previous obligations with his other bands, Der Weg einer Freiheit and Fuck You And Die. So the process we have now is that I create all of the music and record demo versions of the songs, then Tobi listens to them and writes his parts, and we meet in the studio and record quickly because we already have everything independently rehearsed.

7.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you planning on expanding the line up in the future or do you chose to remain a duo?

I am open to the idea of expanding the lineup, it would just have to be with like-minded people who share the same vision. In the studio, it’s no problem being a duo. In a live environment it would be nearly impossible for us to play all of these songs as a duo. Some bands can really pull it off; Inquisition and Bölzer for example. In our music though it just wouldn’t work.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?

So far the response has been overwhelmingly positive from all over the world. I just took 20 CDs to the post office to mail out today and out of those 20, there were 12 different countries as destinations. That really makes me happy and it serves as a testament that music transcends all borders and barriers.

9.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

We have received some label interest and I would want to sign with a label, but the timing and conditions would have to be right.

10.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

You can expect a full length album sometime in 2015. As of right now, the writing process is going very quickly but I want to make sure that the music is the best that I can write before we head into the studio. As for musical direction, expect us to venture into even darker territory and include some new elements in the music, perhaps some acoustic passages and longer songs.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Some of the bands that have had an influence include Dissection, Type O Negative, Mortiis, Explosions In The Sky, Ulver, St. Vitus, Dark Funeral, and Emperor. Some artists I have been listening to lately are Stortregn, Norot, Lebensnacht, Sólstafir, and the new Wolves In the Throne Room.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

I like to collect rare books and vinyl. I work as a professional photographer covering everything from concerts to fashion to weddings. Apart from those things, I enjoy nature, reading, and writing. I’m currently working on a photo book about the Catacombs of Paris.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

I just want to say thank you to everyone who has purchased a copy of the CD or digital download so far. It’s really awesome to see people supporting the music. Be on the lookout for big things in 2015.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
We started in the winter of 2011 in Richmond, VA as a 4-piece. We did a small amount of touring through the last couple years and released 3 separate EP’s before our full length with Forcefield Records.

2.Recently you have released a full length album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from your previous ep’s?
-The musical sound on False Light is our attempt to challenge ourselves and move forward from our previous releases. It also sounds different since we have a different singer than all of the other EPs.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
The negative effects of the exploration of one’s mind and the pure, fucked up reality that is mankind.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Unsacred’/
No response.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
All the generator shows that we have played in Richmond and Asheville, NC. Our stage performance attempts to eliminate all the bullshit associated with live music (long rants, mercy plugging, insincere thanks, etc.). We try to set up, play, and break down as quickly as possible so as to draw the least amount of attention to ourselves.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Yes.

7.The new album was released on Forcefield Records, are you happy with the support they have given the new album?
Yes. Tim has been awesome to work with, he has helped us gain a lot of great connections, and we are very appreciative of him for giving us this opportunity.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal and crust?
We have received mixed reviews, not unlike any other band in any other genre of music.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We hope to continue to push ourselves as musicians and songwriters.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influenc eon your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
We all come from different musical backgrounds. Most of our heavy influences lie in punk and metal. We believe that you can take inspiration from any form of artistic expression.
Scott (drummer): I’ve been heavily listening to Phillip Glass’s piano works, The Marked Men, Craft, and Thin Lizzy.
Hunter (bassist): Electric Wizard, Black Sabbath, and Lil Ugly Mane
Miguel (guitarist): Craft, Ravencult, Entombed, Dead In the Dirt.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
Psychadelics, BMX, skateboarding, smoking copious amounts of marijuana, and BBQ’n.
12.before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
- We takin’ over 2k15 gon’ be a big one. *puffs/passes*

Nocturnal Degrade are a 1 man band from Italy that plays an ambient form of depressive black metal and this is a review of his 2014 album "The Deep Tragic Condition" which will be release d on cassette by Bylec-Tum.

A very fast and raw black metal sound starts off the album along with some blast beats and high pitched depressive screams and the guitars use a great amount of tremolo picking and after a few minutes dark ambient style synths are added into the music along with some acoustic guitars being added into certain sections of the recording.

The ambient parts are also mixed in with the heavier sound giving the album an atmospheric feeling and the songs also bring in a good mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts along with some of the tracks being very long and epic in length and the faster parts bring in a very old school 90's sound at times and one of the tracks also brings in a brief use of spoken word parts and the album closes with a dark ambient piece.

Nocturnal Degrade plays a style of depressive black metal that is a lot more raw, fast and old school sounding than most of his counterparts while also still having some elements of dark ambient, th e production sounds very dark, raw and old school while the lyrics cover Suicide, Life, Death, Apathy, Decay and Anti Human themes.

In my opinion Nocturnal Degrade are a very great sounding raw and depressive ambient/black metal project and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this cassette. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Above The Bitter Depths" and "Era of Nothingness". 8 out of 10.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Sextrash are a band from Brazil and are considered one of the earlier war metal or bestial black/death metal bands while there music also brings in a good dose of thrash and this is a review of their 1990 album "Sexual Carnage" which will be re-issued by Greyhaze Records in the year of 2015.

Bells and sound effects start off the album along with some evil horror movie style synths which leads up to a first wave black metal style of guitars and screaming vocals which mix in with the synths and after the intro the music starts going for more of a raw and heavy black/death metal sound along with a good amount of blast beats.

You can hear a great amount of thrash metal element s in the bands musical style along with earlier traces of war and bestial black metal and the solos and leads are what you would expect from a mid 80's extreme underground metal band and the vocals also bring in a good mixture of growls and screams.

All of the musical instruments on the album have a very powerful sound to them while it does not affect the raw or brutal nature of the songs and at times the songs also bring in a small amount of melody but it is done very rarely and some of the tracks also bring in a good mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts and as the album progresses synths make their return in certain sections of the recording and enhance the evil atmosphere of the bands musical style and the bonus tracks come from a 1989 ep and some demo material.

Sextrash where very heavy and aggressive for their time taking an influence from early Sarcofago and taking the music into more of a raw and extreme direction and you can hear a lot of early war and bestial black metal in the bands raw and brutla approach to the black, death and thrash metla genres, the production sounds very raw and heavy for the time it was recorded while the lyrics cover Satanism, occultism, Moshing, Alcohol, Necrophilia, Sex and Death.

In my opinion this was a very great sounding album from Sextrash and if you are a fan of the most raw and aggressive styles of war, black, death and thrash metal and want to learn the roots of the music, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Seduced By Evil" "Black Church" "Jack the Ripper" and "Satanas". 8/5 out of 10.